Windows 8 in Review: Fusion or Frankenstein?

Based on the comments, articles, and discussions around Windows 8 over the past several months and my own experiences using it, I've come to a realization. Whether or not someone likes Windows 8 is solely dependent on two psychological views about change. The first of which is how the person generally feels about change—I believe that change is typically for the worse. The second deals with one's ability to accept and adapt to change—no change can result in something better, only different.

If you can disagree to either of those statements, you will (eventually) like Windows 8 over any previous version of Windows, despite how different it is.

Microsoft's "Burning Platform"

Microsoft knows people are (for the most part) inherently resistant to change, and probably wish they could have better predicted the future computing market before the Longhorn train wreck left the station. In many ways, Microsoft and Nokia both have a lot in common. Windows, as it was, was a burning platform, just how Symbian was for Nokia. Symbian was going to sink fast at the hands of iOS and Android, and though more of the same old Windows would have held out for another product cycle, it wouldn't have lasted much longer than that.

As a result, Microsoft had no choice but to take a bold step and transform Windows from the ground up. Windows 8 is the most radical evolution to Windows ever, both aesthetically and functionally, and it slaps you in the face as soon as it boots up.

I'm not going to cover every change between Windows 7 and Windows 8; this would be a book by the time I finished. Plus, we've already done a few articles touching on changes to Windows 8 you'll really like, and maybe not like so much. For that level of detail, there are no shortage of feature reviews online. Instead, I'm going to talk about the major changes and additions at a high level, their strategy, concerns, and whether or not Microsoft has done what some say was impossible.